Final Word from Monday, March 1, 2004
Pavel Telička is known as a tough negotiator with sharp elbows. He'll need all he's got to get himself out of the corner he's in. He's given up his post as ambassador to the EU to become commissioner, but KDU-ČSL Chair Miroslav Kalousek told Právo that Telička should only remain in the job until the plums are ripe in the fall. ODS also wants to replace him in Nov. Telička has already told the BBC that it's highly unlikely he could return to diplomacy or enter domestic politics after his term expires. Unless he wants to make a major career change (business, academia), his only real choice now is to fight to remain as commissioner until 2009. He'll have a full plate in Brussels, but Prague is where his future will be decided. To survive longer than the plums, he'll need to summon all his skills to strike a pact with the political devils in Prague trying to bring him down.